After an initial airing on Channel 4 in the UK in 2013, the series will be exclusively available to view on Netflix in the UK and Ireland. Subscribers in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Scandinavia will see the series debut on the streaming service.

Gervais said of the move: "Netflix is the future. TV habits have already changed drastically over the last 10 years and this is the next phase. People want their favourite shows on demand whether they are home-grown or not.

"As an artist you want the fruits of your labour to be seen by the largest number of people possible without having to compromise the product. This deal gave me the freedom and the huge potential viewers of the internet but the production values of film and TV.

"They also made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Come on, an artist gotta eat man."